April 24, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Actelion to Accelerate Clinical Trials For Experimental Therapy That Treats MS, Other Autoimmune Diseases Actelion Pharma recently announced that it will accelerate the launchĀ of clinical trials involving its lead drug candidateĀ ponesimod, an oral, selective sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P1). This decision came after a group of scientists working on different phases of clinical trials for the therapy observedĀ mostly positive effects of ponesimod in terms of efficacy, efficiency…
April 23, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD NYU Langone Researchers Report What Happens When Multiple Sclerosis Patients Abandon Treatment A team led by researchers at the New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Center recently assessed what happens when clinically stable patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) stop taking their medication and found that almost 40% of them experience to some extent a return in disease activity and related symptoms. The…
April 23, 2015 News by admin Phase III Study of Experimental MS Therapy Meets Primary Endpoint, Results to be Presented at ANN Meeting MedDay, a French biotechnology company that studies treatments for nervous system disorders, including multiple sclerosis, announced that MD1003, a highly-concentrated biotin, is effective forĀ treatment of progressive multiple sclerosis, according to results from a recent Phase III trial. MD1003 may have two beneficial effects: 1) increasing myelin, the fatty nerve-insulating…
April 22, 2015 News by Charles Moore CorTechs Labs And Novartis Partner On Solutions for Quantifying Brain Volume In MS Patients San Diego based medical software developer CorTechs LabsĀ announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement with multinational pharmaceutical maker Novartis Pharma AG. The two companies will collaborate in further development of Cortechs’ powerful NeuroQuant breakthrough 510(k) cleared software brain volume quantification device that targets identification, measurement and tracking…
April 22, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Experts Join New Medical Advisory Board at MS Views & News The non-profit organization MS Views and News (MSVN) has invited two health care experts on multiple sclerosis (MS) to joinĀ their new medical advisory board.Ā Brian Steingo, MD andĀ Patricia Pagnotta, MSN, ARNP-C willĀ co-chair the new board to assist the organization with its mission of offering the…
April 22, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Biogen To Present Data On The Effectiveness of TECFIDERA In Newly-Diagnosed MS Patients During The ANN Annual Meeting BiogenĀ hasĀ recently announced novelĀ results to support the effectiveness of TECFIDERAĀ (dimethyl fumarate) inĀ the treatment of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The results revealed that TECFIDERA significantly reduced disability progression andĀ relapses in RRMS patients who received their diagnosis for the first time and had a highly active form of the disease.Ā TECFIDERA…
April 22, 2015 News by admin Two Already-Approved Medications Could Treat MS Two already available medicationsĀ could be used to treatĀ multiple sclerosis (MS). In a newĀ study titled, “Drug Based Modulation of Endogenous Stem Cells,” published in the journal NatureĀ on April 20, 2015, scientists report that twoĀ drugs couldĀ activate stem cells in the brain, possibly repairing MS-induced damage to…
April 22, 2015 News by Maureen Newman Two Researchers Investigate FACETS Program to Fight Fatigue in MS Throughout the years, Dr. Sarah Thomas and Dr. Peter Thomas at Bournemouth University have been developing a program to aid multiple sclerosis patients affected by fatigue. Their program, developed at the Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit in collaboration with colleagues at Dorset Multiple Sclerosis Service at Poole Hospital, is a…
April 22, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Epilepsy Drug May Treat Eye Complications in Patients With MS A new study to beĀ presented during the American Academy of Neurology’s 67th Annual Meeting, April 24, in Washington, DC, explores the use ofĀ phenytoin, a drug commonly used to treat epilepsy, as a novel treatment for acute optic neuritis, a severe eye complication of multiple sclerosis (MS) that affects approximately half…
April 22, 2015 News by Maureen Newman Progressive MS Pipeline Slowly Filling With New, Experimental Therapies As the most common non-traumatic cause of disability in young people in the industrialized world, multiple sclerosis affects more than 2.5 million people globally. Those who suffer with the diseaseĀ are categorized into two types of multiple sclerosis patients: those with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) make up the majority of patients…
April 21, 2015 News by Charles Moore PatientsLikeMe/Biogen Study Evaluates Wearable Devices To Monitors Activity Of People With MS Cambridge, Massachusetts basedĀ PatientsLikeMe has released results of a novel study conducted in conjunction with pharmaceutical maker Biogen that demonstrated how people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) can employ wearable activity tracking devices to monitor, collect, and share their personal mobility data. That information can potentially be relevant for…
April 20, 2015 News by Maureen Newman Case Study Highlights Demyelinating Lesion in Pediatric MS Patient Discovered After Abdominal Pain Considering the range of neurological symptoms normally associated with adult multiple sclerosis (including loss of coordination, weakness, fatigue, and trouble thinking), symptoms of pediatric multiple sclerosis are often nonspecific and affect the intestinal system. Intestinal mobility and sensation, vomiting, and long transit time for digestion (dysphagia) are symptoms that also…
April 17, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Genetic Variants Found to Play a Role in Antibody Production and Disease Severity in Multiple Sclerosis Patients Dr. Jose Ćlvarez-CermeƱo and Dr. Luisa Villar from Instituto RamĆ³n y Cajal de InvestigaciĆ³n SanitariaĀ in Madrid, Spain recently published in the journal Nature Reviews Neurology a review on the work developed by Dr. An Goris and colleagues on the link between genetic factors and multiple sclerosis…
April 17, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD First Generic Version of Copaxone Approved by FDA to Treat Multiple Sclerosis The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the approval of the first generic version ofĀ CopaxoneĀ (glatiramer acetate injection) for the treatment ofĀ relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The administration has grantedĀ Sandoz marketing authorization forĀ glatiramer acetate in 20 mg/1 ml…
April 16, 2015 News by admin Co-existing MS and FM Influences Pain Threshold, According to New Study People with multiple sclerosis (MS) commonly experience a low pain threshold and sensitivity to heat and cold. If a person has multiple sclerosis along with fibromyalgia (FM), that could make this sensitivity even more intense. Until now, no group has studied this phenomenon. In a study titled “…
April 16, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Experimental Drug Appears to Repair Nerve Damage in Multiple Sclerosis Patients The American Academy of Neurology (AAN)Ā recently announced the results of a new study that evaluated an experimental drug for multiple sclerosis (MS) with the potential to repair damaged myelin layers, a fatty material that covers and protects neurons. These findings will be presented at the 67th AAN Annual Meeting,…
April 15, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Beta-Interferon Therapy Has No Effect on Secondary Progressive MS Onset According to Study A team led by researchers at the University of British ColumbiaĀ in Canada recently published results in the European Journal of NeurologyĀ showing thatĀ treatment with beta-interferon has no effect on secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) disease onset. The study is entitled āBeta-interferon exposure and…
April 15, 2015 News by Maureen Newman Researchers Discover New Way To Determine MS Disease Aggressiveness By Measuring Antibody Levels A new commentary concerning genetic variability in multiple sclerosis patients highlights a new marker of disease severity. Local IgG (antibody) synthesis is found in over 90% of multiple sclerosis patients, and there is a genetic basis for this hallmark of disease. “A new genome-wide association…
April 14, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Modified Story Memory Technique (mSMT) Might be Affected by Cognitive Dysfunction in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis A team of Kessler Foundation researchers recently published their findings onĀ the MEMREHAB trial, whereby treatment with the modified Story Memory Technique (mSMT) may be affected by cognitive dysfunction. The study entitled āThe influence of cognitive dysfunction on benefit from learning and memory rehabilitation in MS:…
April 14, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD New Novartis Analyses On Gilenya For Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis To Be Presented at Upcoming Conference NovartisĀ will present novelĀ GilenyaĀ data, demonstratingĀ the company’s methods for assessing the impact of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) in bothĀ patients and physicians, during the 67th Annual Meeting of American Academy of Neurology (AAN) that will take place in Washington, DC between the 18th and the 25th of April, 2015. The data will…
April 13, 2015 News by Charles Moore Amarantus Advancing MSPrecise For Improved Diagnosis of Relapsing-Remitting MS Amarantus BioScience Holdings, Inc. (Amarantus) is a San Francisco based, development-stage, publicly-traded biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing first-in-class treatments and diagnostics in neurology for diseases associated with the dysfunction of a wide range of biological pathways, including protein misfolding, cell cycle dysregulation, neurodegeneration and apoptosis (Programmed Cell…
April 13, 2015 News by admin Biogen to Focus on RRMS Disease Management, Treatment at Upcoming Conference Biogen plans toĀ present new clinical data at the 67th American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting in Washington D.C., April 18 ā 25, 2015, including numerous presentations focusing on multiple sclerosis. Ā In a company press release, Biogen statedĀ āAt AAN, we will feature new scientific data, including research highlighting the…
April 10, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MedDay To Release Phase III Clinical Trial Results for Experimental Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Therapy MedDayĀ recently announced in a news releaseĀ that it is preparing to release the design and results of its clinical trial to assess the safety and efficacy of MD1003 in primary and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment. Data on the Phase III clinical trial (MS-SPI) will be presented…
April 9, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Patient Travels Abroad to Receive Stem Cell Treatment AĀ stem cell therapyĀ being administeredĀ to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) outside the United States was recently touted by an MSĀ patient who traveled to Mexico to receive the therapy, revealing significantĀ improvements in herĀ quality of life.Ā Debbie Bertrand, an MS patient who was diagnosed in 2001, is sharing her…
April 8, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD National MS Society Announces $28 Million Funding For Research TheĀ National Multiple Sclerosis Society has announcedĀ it willĀ grantĀ $28 million to 84 new research projects and training awards focusedĀ on multiple sclerosis (MS). The new financial support is included in the society’s comprehensive research strategy, which was designed to not only endĀ MS, but also restore patients’…
April 8, 2015 News by Isaura Santos Multiple Sclerosis Patients Could One Day Benefit From Brain Boost Study A recent study suggests that in the futureĀ multiple sclerosis patients could benefit from treatments intendedĀ to boost their brain function. The study was published inĀ Nature NeuroscienceĀ and receivedĀ funding fromĀ The Wellcome Trust, the Lister Research Prize and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. According to researchers, patients…
April 8, 2015 News by Charles Moore MedDay Updates Status Of Pioneering Pivotal Phase III Study Design In Progressive Multiple Sclerosis MedDay, a Paris, France based biotechnology company specializing in treatment of neurological disorders, has released more information regarding the design of its (MS-SPI) clinical trial that is investigating the efficacy and safety of the investigational medicine MD1003 in treatment of primary and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Progressive…
April 7, 2015 News by admin Wellness for People with MS Outlined in New Paper From the National MS Society The National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society recently released a recent paper on wellness titled “Wellness for People with MS: What do we know about Diet, Exercise and Mood And what do we still need to learn?“ The paper focuses on how wellness can be achieved by…
April 7, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Consortium of MS Centers Launches Mentorship Program The Foundation of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (FCMSC) is launching aĀ new mentorship program dedicated to medical residents pursuing a neurology fellowship to accelerateĀ and support their work in treatingĀ multiple sclerosis (MS). The initiative was launched atĀ the beginning of the year and seeksĀ to provide information on career…
April 6, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Central Immune System Component Found to be Related to MS Neurodegeneration, Clinical Disability A recentĀ study published inĀ PLOS ONEĀ provides new insights into the relationship between the immune system and neurodegeneration and clinical disability in multiple sclerosis (MS). A team of researchers led by Dr.Ā Shahin Aeinehband from theĀ Neuroimmunology Unit at theĀ Karolinska Institutet in Sweden looked at the association between…